FIRST BOX OFFICE OF 2017

Posted on April 14, 2017April 14, 2017 by desboromh

It’s here! It’s here! The first box office of the year! Why are we so excited about this? Because it means our first concert is in A WEEK! We’ve been working hard over the winter: fixing things, making things better and finding our amazing acts. We think we’ve improved the Hall. (See if you can figure out what we’ve done.) We also think we’ve found ourselves some world class musicians.

We are very proud of our opening show, consisting of My Sweet Patootie, a local band and Alicia Toner, from the East Coast. Both feature fiddle players but with different styles. Come on out for the first concert of the Season to check out My Sweet Patootie and Alicia Toner on Sat April 22, 2107.

See you at our first Box Office on Sat Apr 15, 10am – 12pm. Then we’ll see you at our first show in A WEEK! In the meanwhile, here’s a little more about our acts to get a taste of what you’ll hear on Opening Night.

My Sweet Patootie is made up of Sandra Swannell on fiddle, Terry Young on guitar and Paul Clifford on drums. Their style can vary from traditional Irish reel to contemporary ragtime swing. “Swing, folk, country and nostalgia collide head-on in a most pleasing fashion”, Maverick Magazine gives My Sweet Patootie 4 out of 4 stars! The band is heavily influenced by the likes of Chet Atkins, Lenny Breau, Les Paul & Mary Ford and the Andrews Sisters. Throw in a penchant for light-hearted satire and their love of artists like Patsy Cline and Hank Williams and you get a sound that Young likes to call “Green Acres for the New Millennium”. “MSP released their Latest album “Pandemonium” in August 2016. The CD was produced, arranged, engineered and mastered by Young & Swannell at their own Nowheresville Studio located in an historic one-room school house near Meaford, Ontario. “Pandemonium” is their most ambitious project to date and features each member’s skills as multi-instrumentalists, yet still remains true to their live sound as a trio.” No matter what music they’re playing, you know you’re in for a fun time.

Opening for them is Alicia Toner who is also a master of everything she tries. “A critically acclaimed singer, fiddler, actor, musician, Alicia Toner has been wowing audiences with her diverse skill set for years. An East Coaster at heart, Alicia felt the pull of the Maritimes and, in 2014, made Charlottetown her home. Since then, she has shifted her attention to her first love; music. In June of 2015, Alicia went into the studio with Stuart Cameron, Peter Fusco and Blake Manning to record her first four track EP. The following Spring, with the help of FACTOR Canada, she completed her full-length debut album “I Learned the Hard Way” to be released this September, 2017.”

It’s going to be a great start to our Season.

Videos

Posted on May 22, 2016May 26, 2016 by desboromh

Here are videos from the last couple of shows.

The first one is a clip of Larry Jensen and Pete Devlin from April 30, 2016, the Grand Opening of Desboro Music Hall:

This next one is from Our Shotgun Wedding, Dylan McMullin and Lauren Jewell, the opener on May 14, 2016 singing “Makes Me Think of You” and “The Bad Son”:

This is a clip of Oh Susanna from May 14, 2016 singing “Cottonseed” by Keri Latimer:

May: Oh Susanna and Our Shotgun Wedding

Posted on May 4, 2016 by desboromh

May is going to be a great month. The weather is warming up as spring arrives. And in only two more weeks, we have Oh Susanna and Our Shotgun Wedding stopping by to share their music with us.

If you haven’t heard Oh Susanna before, check her out. Oh Susanna draws you in with her lyrics and her voice. She has previously released 7 records. Her latest, Namedropper, was delayed as Suzie spent a year fighting breast cancer. This gives the record an energy and a joy that is precious and special. It is built on a great premise: other singer-songwriters wrote songs for her to sing. It’s the kind of collaboration that makes music great. You can hear the essence of the song-writer, who happen to be some of Canada’s great musicians like Joel Plaskett, Ron Sexsmith, Amelia Curran and the Good Lovelies, to name just a couple. Mix that with the magic of Oh Susanna’s voice and you want to listen to the songs over and over.

“This project is about friendship. Through music we want to express our admiration, gratitude and respect for our fellow Canadian songwriters. They kick us in the ass. They break our hearts. They inspire.”

Opening for Oh Susanna is Our Shotgun Wedding. They are from Owen Sound and have those irresistible catchy tunes that you can’t help tapping your feet or bopping your head along with. Listening to them just makes you feel happy. They’ve got a pretty interesting story, too. They met at Summerfolk (right in Owen Sound) on the dance floor and have been making beautiful music since. [I know…that was cheesy but I just couldn’t resist!] They’ve even played the Desboro Fall Fair! Check them out.

“Our Shotgun Wedding a duo with an infectious energy, clever, well-written songs and a ton of charisma. On festival workshops they are a great spark-plug who can kick start an onstage jam and make everybody feel welcome.”
-James Keelaghan, Artistic Director, Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival

Saturday May 14, 2016
Doors Open: 7pm, Music Starts: 7:30pm
All Ages

Get your tickets and come support us in the May show in our Desboro Music Concert Series.

If you want to read their bios and hear some songs, go to their Events Page

Tickets available:
Buy Tickets online
Box office hours (Saturdays 9am – 12pm)
Phone/text Joe Klages (519) 377-2358
At the Door (if there are any left) the day of the concert

Line-up Release

Posted on March 31, 2016March 31, 2016 by desboromh

our 2016 Concert Series Line-up

We are very excited to reveal the rest of our season line-up. We are very proud of the musicians we are bringing to Desboro and have a variety of music coming your way. Most shows will open with a local musician as we also want to support our local artists.

Our Season Opener on April 30th will be a showcase of three local talents, Rob Elder, Drew McIvor and Larry Jensen. In May, we bring you the beautiful voice of Oh Susanna with the local favourite, Our Shotgun Wedding. June sees a night of storytelling through song with Ashley Condon, all the way from P.E.I., bringing her fresh voice and Paul J McInnis with his engaging music. July we rock out with the blues with Alfie Smith and Nicole Christian and our opener, Gathering Sparks‘ catchy tunes. In August, we get to hear “Canadian history in harmony” with Trent Severn and the talented Leah Mathies. September sees us switching gears with The Schotts, a husband and wife bluegrass duo and Zakary Miller with his “Canadiana swing” opening for them. Finally, our Closing Show is with the high energy Mark Reeves, his guitar and his harmonica. It’s going to be a great season.

Please come out and join us in our inaugural year. Tickets are available at our box office hours or online. See our blog post on “How to buy a ticket?” for more details.

Box Office Hours at Desboro Music Hall for April:
Saturdays: 9am – 12pm

Read more about each artist on their events page or on our facebook page. Click on their picture or on their name below to go to their events page.

Desboro Music Hall Concert Series
Rob Elder and Friends
Saturday April 30, 2016

Desboro Music Hall Concert Series 2016
Oh Susanna with Our Shotgun Wedding
Saturday May 14, 2016
Photo by Heather Pollock

Desboro Music Hall Concert Series
Ashley Condon with Paul J McInnis
Saturday June 4, 2016

Desboro Music Hall Concert Series
Alfie Smith and Nicole Christian with Gathering Sparks
Saturday July 1, 2016

Desboro Music Hall Concert Series
Trent Severn with Leah Mathies
Friday August 12, 2016
Photo by Mark Maryanovich

Desboro Music Hall Concert Series
The Schotts with Zakary Miller
Saturday September 10, 2016

Desboro Music Hall Concert Series
Mark Reeves with TBA
Saturday Oct 1, 2016

April 30, 2016 – Rob Elder and Friends

May 4 , 2016 – Oh Susanna/Our Shotgun Wedding

June 14, 2016 – Ashley Condon/Paul J McInnis

July 2, 2016 – Alfie Smith and Nicole Christian/Gathering Sparks

August 12, 2016 – Trent Severn/Leah Mathies

September 10, 2106 – The Schotts/Zakary Miller

October 1, 2016 – Mark Reeves/TBA

Brainstorming…

Posted on December 17, 2015 by desboromh

We’re trying to figure out all the logistical things like the structure of the business, what we have to do to actually have a concert and what else the building can be used for. We are diving into unknown territory, having never owned a music hall before. We’ll need all the support we can get from the community to make this a success.

A few ideas we’re tossing around:

Music concerts (of course, this was our original idea. We would hold at least one concert a month)
Farmer’s Market. (we know Keady has one on Tues and it’s huge but ours would be smaller and hopefully take place maybe on Sat?)
Coffee Houses (where anyone can go up to sing a song, maybe all ages)
Talent show for local kids
Jam nights (where people get together just to play songs with other people)
A place for local groups to have meetings
Big Buck Day (bring your horns in to get assessed and graded)
Euchre/Crokinole Tournament

The whole reason we bought the old church is to fill a void in the community and we need your help to figure out where all the holes might be. So if anyone has any ideas, don’t be afraid to share them with us. If you’re looking for a space, let us know. We’re working out a rental agreement so that anyone in the community can rent the space, too. We’re always happy to hear what others have to say. You can reach us through our facebook page, email, twitter (@desboromusic) or leave a comment on this website. Let us know which is your favourite idea we’ve come up with and what other ideas you might have. Thanks!

We still have a lot of work to go as we aim for our spring opening!

Why we bought a church

Posted on July 28, 2015July 28, 2015 by desboromh

Thanks for all the support with liking our Facebook page, checking out the website and following us on twitter (@desboromusic). We are super excited to get things going but we still have a lot of logistical things to figure out and have a way to go before we can open our doors.

But in the meanwhile, we thought we would share a few of our ideas and plans to get everyone as super excited as we are.

So a bit of the back history. The church had been up for sale for a year. We had talked about turning it into a music hall when it first went up for sale but didn’t do anything about it. We realized that since the Community Hall had been torn down, the only place to perform was in the arena. And although the arena is nice because it is so big and can fit lots of people, the acoustics are not the best and even if you want a small gathering, you’re a little lost in the big echo-y space. So the church came up for sale and it just so happened that a year later we were in the right place to make an offer and we got it!

So onto the exciting part: our vision for this place. If everything works out, we would love to hold a concert about once a month. What kind of music, you ask. Well, we are thinking folk/country/bluegrass music, the kind of music we like and are passionate about; the kind of music we want to share with others to enjoy. We’d also like to showcase local talent. Then beyond that, we would love to have it available for the community to rent for such events as euchre tournaments or family reunions or whatever you would use a community hall for. It’s a beautiful building with great acoustics and we want to be able to keep it for the community.

Now our plans do take some time and we still have lots to do in the hall to get it ready for business. However we would love to hear from you. You can add your suggestions and comments below (or through our Facebook page or twitter feed). We want to hear how we can make this place work for you, too! We will be holding polls/contests on our site so please keep following us at DMH as we are working hard to get to our opening day!